What Player in Cards History or MLB History Would Struggle Now?

[Adam2]

Obviously the game has changed since the dawn of the game. What players were studs in their time but you think would struggle now? Or what players do you think would still be studs now no matter what?

Babe Ruth isn't using that 50 ounce bat now that guys are throwing 15mph harder than he faced

[OldRed]

Obviously the game has changed since the dawn of the game. What players were studs in their time but you think would struggle now? Or what players do you think would still be studs now no matter what?

Babe Ruth isn't using that 50 ounce bat now that guys are throwing 15mph harder than he faced

Great hitters would survive in any era in my opinion.

[Adam2]

Obviously the game has changed since the dawn of the game. What players were studs in their time but you think would struggle now? Or what players do you think would still be studs now no matter what?

Babe Ruth isn't using that 50 ounce bat now that guys are throwing 15mph harder than he faced

Great hitters would survive in any era in my opinion.

I generally agree with you. With access to all the current day technology

[rockondlouie]

Babe Ruth isn't using that 50 ounce bat now that guys are throwing 15mph harder than he faced

15 mph harder?

Pitchers weren't throwing an average of only 80 MPH in Babes days (average MLB fastball in 2025 was 94.3 mph).

Best guess is they threw in the 85 to upper 80's mph.

Walter Johnson threw upper 90's and the Babe got that big bat around to the tune of 166 PA: .324/.440/.676, 10 HR, 26 K

https://www.sports-reference.com/stathe ... er-johnson

[JohnnyMO]

Anyone with patience and a little power would translate pretty well. Guys like Ozzie, Jeter, even Ichiro might dominate with their ability to use all fields but they might struggle more too. They never handed velo that well in the first place and a lot of what they relied on to get hits would be offset by modern defensive positioning

[Ozziesfan41]

Players from different past eras would still be good because they would have access to the same things players today have nutritional information weight lifting science all the information on pitchers tendencies they would be accustomed to high velocity. Players today if they played back then wouldn’t have the nutritional information or weight training information or all the information on pitchers tendencies good players would be good in any era.

[RamFan08NY]

Babe Ruth isn't using that 50 ounce bat now that guys are throwing 15mph harder than he faced

15 mph harder?

Pitchers weren't throwing an average of only 80 MPH in Babes days (average MLB fastball in 2025 was 94.3 mph).

Best guess is they threw in the 85 to upper 80's mph.

Walter Johnson threw upper 90's and the Babe got that big bat around to the tune of 166 PA: .324/.440/.676, 10 HR, 26 K

https://www.sports-reference.com/stathe ... er-johnson

You also have to remember that pitchers were often pitching 9, 10, 11 innings per game, and then do it again 5 days later. Yes, they were throwing softer, and with tired arms.
Cy Young threw 750 complete games! He pitched 7300 innings, and he wasnt the only one doing that. To put it in perspective, bob gibson had 255 CGs, and 3800 IP. And he was an extreme work horse..

Pitchers from Babes day may have started off the game at 85 mph, but it didnt last. Those guys were nowhere close to the physical condition of today's pitchers. They all had jobs they worked in the off season.

[rockondlouie]

Babe Ruth isn't using that 50 ounce bat now that guys are throwing 15mph harder than he faced

15 mph harder?

Pitchers weren't throwing an average of only 80 MPH in Babes days (average MLB fastball in 2025 was 94.3 mph).

Best guess is they threw in the 85 to upper 80's mph.

Walter Johnson threw upper 90's and the Babe got that big bat around to the tune of 166 PA: .324/.440/.676, 10 HR, 26 K

https://www.sports-reference.com/stathe ... er-johnson

You also have to remember that pitchers were often pitching 9, 10, 11 innings per game, and then do it again 5 days later. Yes, they were throwing softer, and with tired arms.
Cy Young threw 750 complete games! He pitched 7300 innings, and he wasnt the only one doing that. To put it in perspective, bob gibson had 255 CGs, and 3800 IP. And he was an extreme work horse..

Pitchers from Babes day may have started off the game at 85 mph, but it didnt last. Those guys were nowhere close to the physical condition of today's pitchers. They all had jobs they worked in the off season.

You don't know that, they could've easily been throwing the same in the later innings as they were in the early ones.

I love how some people (not saying you) think throwing a baseball was somehow different in the early 1900's vs today.

Sure pitchers today throw harder today due to their superior size and strength.

But to act like they were throwing BP fastballs in Babe's era is pure bull c r a p.

I'd argue those pitchers actually had stronger arms (not in the sense of throwing harder, just stronger from throwing so many innings) while today's pitchers break down more often and can usually only go four-five plus innings.

[RamFan08NY]

Babe Ruth isn't using that 50 ounce bat now that guys are throwing 15mph harder than he faced

15 mph harder?

Pitchers weren't throwing an average of only 80 MPH in Babes days (average MLB fastball in 2025 was 94.3 mph).

Best guess is they threw in the 85 to upper 80's mph.

Walter Johnson threw upper 90's and the Babe got that big bat around to the tune of 166 PA: .324/.440/.676, 10 HR, 26 K

https://www.sports-reference.com/stathe ... er-johnson

You also have to remember that pitchers were often pitching 9, 10, 11 innings per game, and then do it again 5 days later. Yes, they were throwing softer, and with tired arms.
Cy Young threw 750 complete games! He pitched 7300 innings, and he wasnt the only one doing that. To put it in perspective, bob gibson had 255 CGs, and 3800 IP. And he was an extreme work horse..

Pitchers from Babes day may have started off the game at 85 mph, but it didnt last. Those guys were nowhere close to the physical condition of today's pitchers. They all had jobs they worked in the off season.

You don't know that, they could've easily been throwing the same in the later innings as they were in the early ones.

I love how some people (not saying you) think throwing a baseball was somehow different in the early 1900's vs today.

Sure pitchers today throw harder today due to their superior size and strength.

But to act like they were throwing BP fastballs in Babe's era is pure bull c r a p.

I'd argue those pitchers actually had stronger arms (not in the sense of throwing harder, just stronger from throwing so many innings) while today's pitchers break down more often and can usually only go four-five plus innings.

Im just judging it by how I see pitchers today, who are in better physical condition. If they throw 9 innings, every 5th day, I would assume their arms will tire.

Of corse, like you pointed out, none of us know for sure, but what is a fact is we KNOW that pitchers today throw harder than they did 25 - 40 years ago. Back in the 80s, throwing high 90s, and 100 was very rare. Today, 98 - 101 is a pretty common feat.

[Talkin' Baseball]

I would speculate that many of Dave Duncan's pitch to contact guys would have a hard time. Thinking of Jeff Suppan and Jake Westbrook specifically. Others?

[sp25]

I would speculate that many of Dave Duncan's pitch to contact guys would have a hard time. Thinking of Jeff Suppan and Jake Westbrook specifically. Others?

You realize that these guys were pitching within the last 10-15 years, right? The game hasn't changed that much during that time.

Let's instead talk about Dizzy Dean and Jim Bottomly.

I'll add that Pepper Martin would probably wear a cup playing thirdbase in today's game.

[rockondlouie]

Babe Ruth isn't using that 50 ounce bat now that guys are throwing 15mph harder than he faced

15 mph harder?

Pitchers weren't throwing an average of only 80 MPH in Babes days (average MLB fastball in 2025 was 94.3 mph).

Best guess is they threw in the 85 to upper 80's mph.

Walter Johnson threw upper 90's and the Babe got that big bat around to the tune of 166 PA: .324/.440/.676, 10 HR, 26 K

https://www.sports-reference.com/stathe ... er-johnson

You also have to remember that pitchers were often pitching 9, 10, 11 innings per game, and then do it again 5 days later. Yes, they were throwing softer, and with tired arms.
Cy Young threw 750 complete games! He pitched 7300 innings, and he wasnt the only one doing that. To put it in perspective, bob gibson had 255 CGs, and 3800 IP. And he was an extreme work horse..

Pitchers from Babes day may have started off the game at 85 mph, but it didnt last. Those guys were nowhere close to the physical condition of today's pitchers. They all had jobs they worked in the off season.

You don't know that, they could've easily been throwing the same in the later innings as they were in the early ones.

I love how some people (not saying you) think throwing a baseball was somehow different in the early 1900's vs today.

Sure pitchers today throw harder today due to their superior size and strength.

But to act like they were throwing BP fastballs in Babe's era is pure bull c r a p.

I'd argue those pitchers actually had stronger arms (not in the sense of throwing harder, just stronger from throwing so many innings) while today's pitchers break down more often and can usually only go four-five plus innings.

Im just judging it by how I see pitchers today, who are in better physical condition. If they throw 9 innings, every 5th day, I would assume their arms will tire.

Of corse, like you pointed out, none of us know for sure, but what is a fact is we KNOW that pitchers today throw harder than they did 25 - 40 years ago. Back in the 80s, throwing high 90s, and 100 was very rare. Today, 98 - 101 is a pretty common feat.

You're not wrong

But each generation has had it's share of "flame throwers" from Walter Johnson to Bob Feller to young Nolan Ryan and Frank Tanana to JR Richards in the 70's.

[rockondlouie]

I would speculate that many of Dave Duncan's pitch to contact guys would have a hard time. Thinking of Jeff Suppan and Jake Westbrook specifically. Others?

You realize that these guys were pitching within the last 10-15 years, right? The game hasn't changed that much during that time.

Let's instead talk about Dizzy Dean and Jim Bottomly.

I'll add that Pepper Martin would probably wear a cup playing thirdbase in today's game.

I wouldn't include Dizzy Dean.........from A.I.:

Dizzy Dean was considered one of the hardest throwers of his era, often described as having a blazing fastball that moved with a "smooth, easy motion". Based on his era, his, velocity was likely in the mid-to-high 90s MPH range, similar to modern elite pitchers, as he was noted for dominating with speed.

[rockondlouie]

Players from different past eras would still be good because they would have access to the same things players today have nutritional information weight lifting science all the information on pitchers tendencies they would be accustomed to high velocity. Players today if they played back then wouldn’t have the nutritional information or weight training information or all the information on pitchers tendencies good players would be good in any era.

If you've been blessed w/superior "hand/eye contact" it doesn't matter if it was in the early 1900's or today, any major league level hitter can square up a fastball even one's in the upper 90's.

The Greats of those days would be the Greats of today too.

The J.A.G.'s may not have made it into today's MLB though.

JMO

[Dazepster]

I would look for a guy that had solid contact skills but couldn't catch up to high heat back in the day.

A lot lot more high heat in today's game vs prior decades.

[HorseTrader]

Obviously the game has changed since the dawn of the game. What players were studs in their time but you think would struggle now? Or what players do you think would still be studs now no matter what?

Babe Ruth isn't using that 50 ounce bat now that guys are throwing 15mph harder than he faced

Ahh I think Bo Hart would be a stud into days game. Note the blue font